RoadFish.com Objects to the Catch 22 of Poor Credit Keeping Consumers from Employment

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RoadFish.com men’s lifestyle and finance magazine remarks on the reality of employer credit checks keeping perfectly responsible citizens from being hired, and the vicious cycle that this repetition creates as consumers are unable to dig out of debt without employment

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Until employers either decide or are commanded to stop the practice of checking potential employees’ credit, job applicants have to try to work on their credit as much as they can to up their chances of being hired.

New York, NY (PRWEB)March 15, 2013

RoadFish.com men’s lifestyle and finance magazine issued their statement regarding the present U.S. condition of poor credit reports keeping people unemployed, causing a Catch-22 with consumers who are in need of work to dig out of debt but are ineligible for employment because of their poor financial past. RoadFish.com expressed disappointment and criticism towards the current policies for checking potential new-hires’ credit, and articulated support for new legislation that would prevent employers from running such checks in the future.

A recent article written by Saki Knafo and published in the Huffington Post detailed one particularly grievous account of a more-than-adequate citizen being denied work due to what his interviewers saw on his credit report. The article describes Emmet Pinkston, a loyal serviceman who had served in the Marines, Air Force, and Army for a total of 30 years. He applied for the position of airport security worker in 2011 but was denied the job when the U.S. Transportation Security Administration noted that his credit report indicated an $8,000 debt—a debt that the article later reveals was actually erroneously reported on Pinkston’s credit report. The TSA cited Pinkston as a “potential security risk,” somebody who might be vulnerable to bribes to let people through the airport gate.

RoadFish.com was saddened and horrified by Pinkston’s story, but even more appalled that the use of credit checks is still a measure that employers take to weigh the eligibility of a potential employee. RoadFish.com’s Senior staff writer is quoted as saying, “It’s very upsetting to see good people turned down for work because of past financial transgressions. Especially as a country coming out of a pretty severe economic crunch, you’d think employers would be more lenient and understanding that many Americans lost jobs, houses, and money during the recession. It seems terribly unfair to me that people like Pinkston are being turned away for jobs, and I can only hope that the Huffington Post’s article and other grassroots campaigns can help make the policy of employers checking interviewees’ credit reports obsolete. What does somebody’s debt have to do with how well they can perform at a job, how good their customer service is, or how proficient their computer skills are? It’s ridiculous.”

The above-mentioned Huffington Post article states that according to a report by Demos, a New York based policy and advocacy organization, the fact that employers are so freely and widely using credit checks on potential employees is a contributing factor on the state of high unemployment in the U.S. A 2012 Demos survey interviewed 1,000 middle-income households that had credit card debt of three or more months, revealing that one in seven applicants with poor credit would not be hired based on their credit.

RoadFish.com hopes that employers’ policies of credit checking will be done away with, unless they encourage consumers to work on their credit as much as possible to ensure employment. RoadFish.com’s Senior staff writer is quoted as saying, “It’s crazy to me that credit checking is still in practice, but it is. Until employers either decide or are commanded to stop the practice of checking potential employees’ credit, job applicants have to try to work on their credit as much as they can to up their chances of being hired. It’s such a catch 22, which is why it’s so frustrating—many people got into debt during the recession and it’s those debts on their credit that are preventing them from obtaining employment and the chance at chipping away at their debt. At least credit reports are still free to each consumer each year, so people can check creditreport.com or some other site to view their report and then get to work on making as many positive changes as they can. And in the meantime, I’ll keep rooting for legislation to pass to make hiring opportunities fair for everybody—regardless of your financial past.”

Amy Traub, author of the 2012 Demos report, explains in the Huffington Post article that many of the families who were interviewed had fallen into debt due to employment during the recession, or had faced obstacles such as owing money to hospitals and medical facilities due to a lack of health insurance. Traub is quoted as saying, “As a society these aren’t generally reasons why we say someone should get a job or not get a job.”

About RoadFish.com:
RoadFish.com is an online men’s lifestyle and finance magazine designed for men in their 30’s and 40’s. RoadFish.com writes for individuals who are moderately successful in life, and enjoy seeking out new endeavors and reaching towards fresh goals. RoadFish.com commonly features articles with advice for dating, travel recommendations, and food reviews. Financial topics include advice for budgeting, credit scores, and recent financial news such as the legislation to include credit scores in yearly free credit reports. RoadFish.com is owned and operated by Purpose, Inc.